Warriors ready to compete for title

Thursday

May 8, 2008 at 3:00 PM

HOUMA -- At the start of the high school baseball playoffs, there weren’t many people who thought the Houma Christian Warriors would enjoy success in the Class B playoffs.After all, the Warriors ended the regular season as the third-place team in a tough District 8-B and entered the playoffs as the 19th-seeded team.

Chris Singleton Staff Writer

HOUMA -- At the start of the high school baseball playoffs, there weren’t many people who thought the Houma Christian Warriors would enjoy success in the Class B playoffs.

After all, the Warriors ended the regular season as the third-place team in a tough District 8-B and entered the playoffs as the 19th-seeded team.

But after knocking off No. 14 Doyline (bi-district), No. 3 Maurepas (regionals) and No. 6 Oak Hill (quarterfinals), Houma Christian advanced to the semifinals, where it will face No. 2 Zwolle at 7 p.m. Friday at Bringhurst Field in Alexandria.

It will be Houma Christian’s first ever trip to the state semifinals as a member of the Louisiana High School Athletic Association. Prior to joining the LHSAA in 2004, the Warriors competed in the Louisiana Christian Athletic Association, where it won four state championships in baseball (1993, 1996, 1997 and 2003).

If the Warriors (15-12 overall) beat Zwolle, they will face the winner of the No. 1 Runnels versus No. 5 Bethany Christian semifinal game in the Class B state finals at 3 p.m. Saturday in Alexandria.

And the thought of possibly winning the school’s first-ever LHSAA state title has every member of the team excited.

"It’s been a dream to make it to the state championship, and now we’re two wins away from it. We’re thrilled," Houma Christian senior Jordan Trosclair said. "It’s unbelievable. I can barely get a good night sleep right now. I doubt any of my teammates can. We can’t wait to make that bus trip to Alexandria."

The Warriors’ playoff success isn’t a surprise to only those outside of the program.

"It’s definitely a shock compared to how we played at the beginning of the season," Houma Christian senior pitcher/shortstop Joshua Crowdus said. "I really didn’t expect us to come together like this and beat three good quality teams to make it to the semifinals, but it’s definitely exciting and a privilege to be here."

But Houma Christian coach Chuck Battaglia never doubted his team’s chances. After playing a tough regular season schedule, which included playing district rivals Runnels and Bethany Christian, Battaglia felt the Warriors were ready to make a run in the postseason.

"Our district was definitely the toughest in Class B," said Battaglia, who is in his 12th season as the Warriors’ coach. "We knew anything we saw against them (Runnels and Bethany), we weren’t going to see anything better in the playoffs. It really prepared us for the playoffs. We knew with the way we competed against Runnels and Bethany that we had a true legitimate shot at making it this far."

The Warriors also had some motivation from previous seasons that they used to their advantage. Before this season, they lost three straight years in the bi-district round of the playoffs, including last season’s heartbreaking loss to French Settlement, where they blew a big lead in the seventh inning.

"Getting out of the first round was our main goal coming into this season," Houma Christian senior left fielder Caleb Dupre said. "We had to get that monkey off our back."

Now, the Warriors are focusing on Zwolle, who defeated Mt. Herman (bi-district), Glenmora (regionals) and Stanley (quarterfinals) to make it to Alexandria.

The Hawks (26-2) have won their three playoff games by a combined score of 23-5. Two of Zwolle’s three playoff wins have come in shutouts.

"They are a good team," Crowdus said. "It’s going to be tough, but we can do it as long as we play our best."

Battaglia said the Warriors’ gameplan against Zwolle will be simple.

"We’re going to have to continue playing the way that we’ve been playing the last couple of games," Battaglia said. "We have to do the little things like moving the runners over with one out, making the big plays in crucial situations and getting clutch hits when we need them."

Since Zwolle is located a little more than 90 minutes from Alexandria, Battaglia said he expects a tough atmosphere on Friday.

"It’s going to be a tough environment that we’re walking into," Battaglia said. "They travel well, and they bring a lot of fans. They are a very rowdy and noisy bunch, and they look for anyway to rattle you. We know we have to come out from the beginning and tone that out."

But Trosclair said the Warriors understand the task at hand and are ready to play for a state title.

"We’re thankful for making it this far, but we’re not happy with just being there," Trosclair said. "We want to win a state title. We want to walk around with rings on our fingers like Vandebilt’s softball team. We have our shot at it, and now we just have to go out and give it 110 percent."

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